Three years ago special agent Christopher Stangl appeared in a video calling on people with computer science degrees to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying they were needed “more than ever.” Last night, hackers with subversive online networks Anonymous and Antisec answered that call with nothing short of irreverence: they published what they claimed were more than 1 million unique device identifier numbers, (UDID) for Apple devices, stolen from Stangl’s own laptop.

In total, the hackers say they were able to steal more than 12 million of these strings of numbers and letters, but, “we decided a million would be enough to release.” They announced the hack through the widely-watched Twitter feed, @AnonymousIRC last night.

Forbes cyber security reporter Andy Greenberg has downloaded the encrypted file posted by Anonymous containing the identifiers, and decrypted it. “It does seem to be an enormous list of 40-character strings made up of numbers and the letters A through F, just like Apple UDIDs,” he reports.

The incident raises many questions, not only about the security of federal devices, but of why an agent might have (allegedly) been carrying a database of Apple UDIDs, which the hackers said also contained “user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc.” of iPhone and iPad users. They claim to have stripped this information for publication.

Stangl did not wish to comment when contacted by email, and an FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. The Anonymous supporters also said in their Pastebin post on Monday evening that they were not giving further interviews on the matter.

“During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of ‘NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv’ turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device,type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc.

“The personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose.”

Stangl, who joined the FBI in 2003 after graduating from Monmouth University, has been with the agency for nine and a half years and won an award in 2010 for helping bust a cyber crime ring. He was also sucked into another Anonymous stunt earlier this year when at least one of their supporters breached an FBI conference call that had been discussing Anonymous and LulzSec. Stangl was listed among those invited into the call, in an e-mail that was posted on Pastebin.

In a video posted to Facebook in 2009 (and which will likely be getting a lot more views in the coming days), Stangl is shown wearing a dark suit and tie, speaking to the camera, and calling for “cyber security experts” to join the FBI.

“Hello. My name is special agent Chris Stangl of the New York city field office of the FBI,” he says. “Today more than ever we need individuals with compeer science backgrounds to join the FBI. From a special agent that investigates cyber crime or the computer scientist that is embedded in the cyber squad that analyzes malware.”

Anonymous and Antisec have shown a variety of motivators, with a large undercurrent being the pursuit of “lulz” and revenge. Hence the FBI is a regular target, and the subject of long-time operations that vary in size and are known as “F*** FBI Fridays.” This particular operation was wrapped into the weekly event (despite being released on a Monday) and aimed at causing maximum embarrassment to investigators who are trying to prevent attacks like these from spinning out of control. The fact that the hackers targeted someone who once called for computer savvy individuals to join the Feds, may have given them all the more reason to pounce.

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UPDATE: If you own an Apple mobile device and are wondering if it got caught up in the UDID dump, TheNextWeb has set up a web tool that lets you type in your device number to check. They also promise to not store your identifier. Here’s how how you can look it up in iTunes.

Screenshot of an iPhone’s unique identifier on iTunes, via whatsmyudid.com

Erika Bonilla, a professional singer and former FBI employee in New Mexico, is suing the FBI for harassment and discrimination, saying several co-workers were “jealous of her appearance and Latin singing career.”

Bonilla, 38, began working at the FBI field office in Albuquerque, N.M., in December 2002. In the summer of 2007, Bonilla was promoted to an Administrative Specialist, “which entailed human resources management, language testing, applicant testing and recruiting matters,” according to the lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in New Mexico.

Bonilla’s suit, filed on June 18, names Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice, which oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The suit states she “was targeted, harassed and retaliated against because she is an attractive Hispanic female with a career in Latin music.”

Bonilla is a professional Latin music singer, has released an album and signed a recording contract for a second album.

“She has performed at various FBIHQ functions,” which the “FBI is well aware of, and allows her to work as a singer,” the suit states.

The lawsuit was brought “to prevent [the FBI] from maintaining a policy” of discriminating against Bonilla, who now lives in California. She is requesting unspecified damages, back pay, “and other equitable relief” for discrimination on the basis of race and gender. She says she should be protected from retaliation for protected activity under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A spokesman for the FBI declined to comment and referred ABC News to the Justice Department. Charles Miller, a spokesman for the the Department of Justice declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

“Ms. Bonilla indicated this harassment included maliciously false rumors, disparate treatment and frivolous complaints that caused her anguish and lost pay,” said Monnica Garcia, Bonilla’s attorney. “This lawsuit was brought because, despite her repeated complaints to management, the agency failed to address the hostile work environment. Ms. Bonilla hopes this lawsuit will not only compensate her for her damages, but also prevent future acts of discrimination and retaliation.”

Bonilla claims her co-workers “would not train [her] or work with her in a non-hostile manner, and they also spread malicious gossip in the office” that she “only obtained her position because of her appearance” over another employee.

“After obtaining the new position, [Bonilla] was harassed by a handful of employees in the office, who thought that Support Services Technician (SST) Maria Grossetete should have received the position,” the suit states.

According to the lawsuit, one employee “made comments about how they needed to ‘get rid of Erika’.”

Another co-worker “falsely stated that the reason the position was given to [Bonilla] was because [she] had sexual relations with executive management in the Albuquerque Office,” according to the suit.

The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility initiated an investigation against one co-worker for harassing Bonilla after which the harassment allegations against him were substantiated, the suit states.

But during the investigation, Bonilla “was inappropriately questioned, in an accusatory fashion, whether she had engaged in sexual relations with members of the executive management in exchange for promotion.”

“Gossip was spread in the office that [Bonilla] was not paying her taxes on income from singing,” she said in the suit. In addition, Bonilla claims employees sifted through her personal belongings including her purse and notebook.

A former FBI Supervisory special agent who worked on some of the bureau’s most high profile terrorism and bombing cases including the Unabomber case, the USS Cole bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing and the1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 9/11 attacks, has been arrested and charged with distributing child pornography.

Donald J. Sachtleben a former FBI agent who served as a team leader on the high profile investigations, was charged in a criminal complaint that was unsealed today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indiana.

Sachtleben was charged with knowingly possessing child pornography and knowingly distributing child pornography. According to his Linked In profile, he left the Bureau in 2008 after a 25-year-career that spanned the globe.

The investigation by the FBI and an Internet Crimes Against Children task force spanned back to last fall when investigators executed a search warrant of another man allegedly trading images of child pornography. A review of the computer of that suspect, identified as Jason Nicoson from Illinois, led agents to Sachtleben and an Internet protocol address at his home in Carmel, Ind.

“A limited on-scene triage of the evidence was completed on computers and storage media found inside the residence and a vehicle. Approximately 30 image and video files containing child pornography were recovered from within a Hitachi Hard Drive inside a Sony VAIO Laptop,” the criminal complaint said of items recovered from Sachtleben’s home after federal agents executed a search warrant at his residence.

“Sachleben’s [sic] wife was interviewed during the execution of the search warrant and denied any knowledge of the child pornography found in Sony VAIO laptop or any involvement with child pornography distribution or possession,” FBI Special Agent Kerri Reifel wrote in the affidavit.

The images that were viewed on Sachtleben’s computer allegedly matched those that were found on Jason Nicoson’s computer from the Illinois search.

If convicted, Donald Sachtleben could face 20 years in prison on the distribution charge and 10 years for possession.

“Today’s announcement underscores this serious commitment, and should make clear that no matter who you are, you will be brought to justice if you are found guilty of such criminal behavior.” said US Attorney Joseph Hogsett.

The Justice Department has made prosecuting these cases a priority under Project Safe Childhood which was set up in 2006. According to Justice Department statistics there has been a 42 percent increase in the number of cases the Department has brought involving the sexual exploitation of children with over 2,700 indictment obtained in 2011.

Attorneys for Sachtleben did not return phone messages or emails when contacted by ABC News.

The mystery surrounding the disappearance nearly five years ago of a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in Iran was rekindled Friday with the release of a hostage videotape showing him alive as of a year ago.

In the video, the former agent, Robert A. Levinson, is shown sitting in a makeshift cell looking gaunt and wearing a threadbare shirt. Mr. Levinson, who worked as a private investigator after retiring from the F.B.I., disappeared in March 2007 while on Kish Island, a resort in the Persian Gulf.

In the tape, which was received by Mr. Levinson’s family last November, the former F.B.I. agent states that he has been held in captivity for three and a half years but does not identify his captors. The tape was the first sign he was still alive.

“I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me,” he said on the tape as Arabic-sounding music played on a soundtrack. “Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something.”

The footage of the former agent was included with a larger videotape that was released Friday on the family’s Web site in which Mr. Levinson’s wife, Christine, and one of the couple’s seven children, appeal for his release. The decision by federal officials to publicize the tape a year after it was sent to the family by e-mail indicates that investigators have made little progress in their search for the former agent, said people briefed on the inquiry.

In their videotape, Mrs. Levinson and her son David make no mention of the Iranian government. Instead, they direct their requests to Mr. Levinson’s captors and urge them to contact his family again.

“My mother has received your messages,” David Levinson said. “Please tell us your demands so we can work together to bring my father home safely.”

Asked about the timing of the tape’s release, an F.B.I. spokeswoman, Jacqueline Maguire, said in a statement: “The video was not previously released due to ongoing investigative initiatives. The investigation to locate Mr. Levinson continues, as the U.S. government continues to work to find him and bring him home safely.”

Earlier this year, Mr. Levinson’s family received another e-mail containing photographs of him wearing what looks like orange prison garb and with a full beard. The F.B.I. was able to trace the various e-mails back to Internet cafes in either Pakistan or Afghanistan but not back to the person or group that created them, said the people briefed on the inquiry.

Mr. Levinson was 59 when he went missing on Kish Island where he had gone to meet with an American fugitive known as Dawud Salahuddin. Mr. Salahuddin has lived in Iran since 1980 when he fled there after assassinating a former aide to the Shah of Iran outside his home near Washington. Mr. Levinson’s family and American officials have said that Mr. Levinson went to Iran to investigate cigarette smuggling for a private client.

Iranian officials have consistently denied knowing anything about the circumstances of Mr. Levinson’s disappearance or what happened to him afterward. During a 2010 trip to the United States, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said his government was willing to help American officials investigate Mr. Levinson’s case.

Since then, at least two meetings have taken place between American and Iranian officials about Mr. Levinson, but they have not yielded any progress, according to people briefed about them.

While not discussing the tape, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indirectly referred to it earlier this year when she announced that American officials had evidence that Mr. Levinson was alive.

Last year, The New York Times reviewed the hostage tape showing Mr. Levinson, but at his family’s request withheld its publication.

Frederick Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, Ga.; Dan Roberts, 67, of Toccoa, Ga.; Ray H. Adams, 65, of Toccoa; and Samuel J. Crump, 68, of Toccoa, were arrested today relating to plans to obtain an unregistered explosive device and silencer and to manufacture the biological toxin ricin for use in attacks against other U.S. citizens and government personnel and officials.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants, who are alleged to be part of a fringe militia group, are charged with planning attacks against their own fellow citizens and government. To carry out their agenda, two of the defendants allegedly purchased purported explosives and a silencer, while the other two defendants took steps to attempt to produce a deadly biological toxin. While many are focused on the threat posed by international violent extremists, this case demonstrates that we must also remain vigilant in protecting our country from citizens within our own borders who threaten our safety and security.”

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said of today’s arrests, “The FBI will act swiftly within its authority when any group or individual seeks to advance its rhetoric or ideology through force or violence. In this matter, the FBI’s Atlanta Division Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) was well positioned to address this investigation and to prevent harm to the general public.”

According to the criminal complaints, federal search warrants and documents in the public record, Thomas, Roberts, Crump, Adams and others were members of a militia organization and began participating in clandestine meetings of a fringe “covert” operations team starting in approximately March 2011. During these meetings, the complaints charge that the men discussed multiple criminal activities, ranging from murder; theft; manufacturing and using toxic agents; and assassinations in an effort to undermine federal and state government and to advance their interests.

In March and April 2011, Thomas, Roberts, Adams and others attended meetings where participants discussed targeting various government officials, including employees of federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service. These meetings also were monitored by FBI agents through the attendance of a confidential source, who recorded the meetings and provided the information to the FBI.

During the meetings, the complaints allege that Thomas, Roberts and others discussed the need to obtain unregistered silencers and explosive devices for use in attacks against federal government buildings and employees, as well as against local police. Thomas, Roberts and others also discussed the use of the biological toxin that can kill individuals in small doses. The participants acknowledged that these actions would constitute murder but reasoned that the actions were necessary in accordance with their ideology.

In May and June 2011, Thomas and Roberts met with an undercover agent purporting to be a seller of unregistered silencers and explosive devices. According to the complaints, Thomas and Roberts allegedly agreed to purchase a silencer and an unregistered explosive device and discussed using the silencers and explosive devices in attacks against federal buildings. In furtherance of this plan, Thomas conducted surveillance of federal buildings in Atlanta and discussed with the source the possibility of attacking the federal buildings using silencers and explosive devices, as punishment for what Thomas deemed to be “treasonous” activities. Thomas also allegedly stated that he believed that these actions needed to be undertaken against both federal and state government officials, and advised that the group would need a great deal of explosives to accomplish its mission.

From June through November 2011, Thomas and Roberts met with the undercover agent and negotiated the purchase of a silencer for a rifle and conversion parts to make a fully automatic rifle, as well as explosives. The complaints allege that Thomas confirmed to the agent that he planned to use the silencer that he was purchasing, and described how he would clean the rifle and use rubber gloves when he handled it so he wouldn’t leave his fingerprints on it during its use. Ultimately, Thomas agreed to purchase the silencer and conversion parts in exchange for providing the undercover agent with another gun owned by Thomas, while Thomas and Roberts allegedly agreed to split the $1,000 cost for the explosives. Thomas and Roberts later expressed concerns that the undercover agent was a “cop,” but wanted to go forward with the transaction anyway.

The complaints charge that during the investigation of Thomas and Roberts, Roberts described another individual named “Sammy” who, according to Roberts, had manufactured the biological toxin, ricin, and had access to the beans used to make ricin. During one of the group’s meetings in September, which was recorded by the confidential source, Crump arrived and said that he would like to make 10 pounds of ricin and disperse it in various United States cities, including Atlanta. Crump described a scenario for dispersing the ricin in Atlanta in which the toxin would be blown from a car traveling on the interstates. Crump allegedly also said that he possessed the ingredient used to make the toxin and cautioned the source about the dangers of handling it.

The complaints allege that in October 2011, Crump described to the source the process to manufacture ricin and advised that the materials should be purchased at different locations far from where he lived. Crump again discussed various methods of and locations to disperse ricin, and told the source that the toxin is deadly if the powder comes into contact with a person’s skin or lungs. During another meeting in October, Adams allegedly provided a sample to Crump of the beans used to manufacture ricin from a storage container of the beans contained at his residence in Stephens County, Georgia, and Crump in turn provided the sample to the source. During meetings on Oct. 29, 2011, Crump allegedly told the source that he was going to shell the beans that week, and Adams explained to the source how to manufacture ricin, showing the source a formula used to make ricin and identifying the ways he planned to obtain the ingredients to do so.

FBI agents arrested all four defendants today without incident and executed search warrants at the residences of the four defendants. The defendants are expected to make an initial appearance on the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan S. Cole tomorrow.

The information provided by the source and the undercover agent allowed the agents to disrupt the defendants’ plans before they were in a position to place citizens in danger of attacks using the weapons, explosives, or a biological toxin.

Members of the public are reminded that the criminal complaints contain only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the JTTF, which includes agents of the FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Assistance in this case has been provided by law enforcement agencies from Habersham County and Stephens County, Ga., and the District Attorney’s Office for the Mountain Judicial Circuit.